Brant's February 2015 Playlist

Photo credit - Vintage Winter

February 1, 2015 - The Northeast U.S. got crazy amounts of snow, but North Carolina is still waffling between 60 degree days and 20 degree nights.  And there's some big football game tonight.  But as usual, my mind is on music.  February is Black History Month, so this month's batch is heavy on the R&B and jazz vibes.  I also threw in a couple of love songs in honor of Valentine's Day.  Enjoy!  To listen on Spotify, click HERE.

1.  Love Fool (Slakah the Beatchild feat. Tanika Charles) - Drake producer partners with soul diva aka Mz Chawls for some stompin' Motown stylings.

2.  It's a Longer Road to California Than I Thought (the Wind and the Wave) - This band takes me to my happy place!  Crystalline vocals over lighthearted instrumentation.  Hoping these peeps come to Charlotte in 2015!

3.  Postcard #3 (Jens Lekman) - How cool is this?!?!  Sexy Swede sets a goal to write and record a new song each week during 2015.  Amazing that with today's connectivity and technology, a song recorded 2 weeks ago can already be available.  Read more about the project and  download HERE.

4.  Baby Have Pity on Me (Cecile McLorin Salvant) - Eric turned me on to this fantastic vocalist.  Shades of Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington flash through my mind as I listen.

5.  Long Way Down (Robert DeLong) - This sounds like the theme to an as-yet-to-be-made James Bond movie!  Plus, it has the best opening line for a song EVER:  "I've been f*cking around while you've been saving the world..."

6.  Stranger (Chris Malinchak with Mikky Ekko) - Groovy Michael Jackson feels from Brooklyn.

7.  Philomena (the Decemberists) - Kinda sweet, kinda pervy tribute to first love from Grammy nominated Indie band!

8.  Every Breaking Wave (U2) - People can really suck sometimes.  U2 goes and does something nice like making their new album available for free on iTunes, and people bitch about it suddenly showing up in their music libraries uninvited.  Regardless of how you feel about having their music gifted to you, it is to their credit that they have lasted as long as they have and continue to produce great music.  Well done, fellas.

9.  Right Here, Right Now (Georgio Moroder featuring Kylie Minogue) - Speaking of longevity, here's another success story!  Legendary producer, who was responsible for many of Donna Summer's hits, returns with this great new song with Kylie Minogue.  The upcoming album promises further collaborations with divas like Sia, Charli XCX and Britney!!!  Thanks Gary for the heads up on this.

10.  Kissin' on my Tattoos (August Alsina) - BET's 2014 Best New Artist is picky about who can put their lips on his tramp stamp.

11.  Hearts Like Ours (the Naked and Famous) - New Zealand band serves up some expansive synthpop.

12.  Not This Time (The 2 Bears) - Propulsive soul from British duo.

13.  Oh Cecilia (the Vamps featuring Shawn Mendes) - Boy band reworking of the Simon & Garfunkle classic gives the song an update without completely bastardizing the original.

14.  Thinking Out Loud (Ed Sheeran) - Considering this song is #2 on iTunes, it probably wasn't necessary for me to call it to anyone's attention, but it does make a nice Valentine's Day addition.

15.  Say What You Mean (Free Bears) - Not to be confused with The 2 Bears (see #12).  These bears are from Germany but they play some phat Americana.  Not sure where I stumbled across this tune - it's a few years old, but I totally dig it.

16.  Made My Mind Up (Mikal Cronin) - American songwriter channels classic 1990's Matthew Sweet in this newest offering.

17.  My One and Only Love (Johnny Hartman with John Coltrane) - I was trying to pick an 'official' Valentine's song, and this one came to mind!  Coltrane's sax and Hartman's velvety vocals are so rich they've got to be fattening.

18.  Number One (Tuxedo) - Mayer Hawthorne project samples Snoop Dogg!  According to MH himself, "We always wondered what the original sample was for Snoop's 'Ain't No Fun (If the Homies Can't Have None)'.  Since we couldn't figure it out, we decided we would make it."

So that's February!  Keep your fingers crossed for at least one good snow here in Charlotte, NC.  If I have to endure the pollen of Spring, I should at least get a Snow Day beforehand so I can rest up.  See you all in March!